Embodying and Becoming an Earth Mama

Leave a Reply
Photography by Jean Manuel

Definition: A female who embodies the ‘yin’ energy. She is nurturing, kind, gentle, loving, and soulful–often going with a more natural Earthy look rather than a glam one.

 

I’ve always been the good girl, followed the rules and tried to do as I’m told. Followed orders, was a well behaved daughter, the perfect student and obedient girlfriend. It didn’t amount to anything good. All that came of this was allowing others to take away my choices, wants and desires. I felt unheard and invalidated and so my throat chakra closed down. I’ve repressed a lot of who I truly am and what I truly want. I became submissive. For so long I’ve been told what I want doesn’t matter, or I’ve been told to wait and it will be given to me by someone else. The past Katie would nod her head in agreement of the individual’s opinions and so called reasonings. Now I’ve come to realise, a lot has been taken from me and I allowed it because I thought that being dutiful and good and pure would amount to a happy life.

A friend once called me a bird of paradise being treated like a caged common budgie. It’s so hard to heal this wound in my throat and in my heart. To stand my ground and say with fierce conviction: you have no power over me.
Continue reading →

The White Goddess by Robert Graves Book Review

Leave a Reply

Graves’s critical method is quite undisciplined, and the book would have benefited from proper editing; but then again, it probably would have been impossible to edit this book properly. Graves is obsessed with the idea that all ‘true’ poetry is inspired by a ‘single poetic theme’, Goddess-worshship, and his book essentially consists of an unending effort to find evidence for this argument.

The key theme here is the role of ‘The White Goddess’, also referred to as the Triple Goddess, who recurs in most religious pantheons as a mother/wife figure, often in a triple aspect as mother, daughter, and crone (or as maiden, seductress, and hag). The argument is that in matriarchal society, before the development of agriculture and before the Bronze Age, this goddess was a prevailing archetype across most of Europe and indeed the wider world, whose primary position was overthrown by male gods over a period of time due to the rise of patriarchal society and the concomitant development of patriarchal religion. This goddess figure was thenceforth subjugated in her commonly known forms such as Isis, Hera/Juno, Frigg/Freya, etc.

The central idea is that there exists a single fundamental story on a global scale, an essential motif in mythology and in all “true” poetry.
Continue reading →

Ancient Love Handfasting Cord

Leave a Reply

As well as Dream Catchers and Botanical Illustrations, I also make Hand-Fasting Cords. A Handfasting cord is used in a wedding ceremony by wrapping or tying around the couple’s joined hands, representing the joining of their lives and the binding of their union, this is where the term “Tying the knot” comes from. Through this ritual, the couple display their unity and become bound to one another.
This is the third cord I’ve made, the first was for my best friend and her fiance- which was purple, white and green tones, the second was for a close Cypriot friend and her husband- which was orangey-turquoise, sunset colours that remind me of Cyprus.


The plan this year is to open up an online shop and artist’s website for comissions. So the Etsy shop will have random creations for individuals to purchase and the website will be more like an online portfolio showcasing my best creations and information about hiring me to beautify your small event such as a woodland wedding in need of dream catcher/wreath decorations, floral/candle designs on the tables, a handfasting cord and illustrated guest invites for example. Continue reading →

Bali Vlog: Living in Ubud for Two Months

1 Reply

I made a short video showing snippets of my two months in Bali. Giving viewers a glimpse of what it was like attending a training with the Be Woman Project, where I lived and some sites I visited. I sadly didn’t get clips from my yoga teacher training as that was very intense.
This time away was not a holiday, it was a pilgrimage. I never got the chance to take a gap year in my early 20’s. So I took the opportunity to allow myself to rediscover who I am when my life in Plymouth collapsed around me back in summer 2018….

My time in Bali began in February 2019 and was life changing, it healed and nourished my spirit and I’m really proud of myself for having the courage to lead such a magical year of self love, adventure and studies. I met such amazing women during my entire stay in Bali who have shown me such love and friendship, I’m so grateful.
This is a time in my life I will never forget and plans are being made to go back.
I want to show my wonderful partner this place and the people and I’d love to teach out there too. Perhaps as a guest teacher on a retreat or facilitate my own training?
Out of all the places in the world I have visited Bali and Cyprus remain my two favourite destinations. Cyprus is like my second home and I really resonate with the Greek Cypriot culture and yet Bali has my heart, it connects to me deeply like a mother healing my inner child.
Ubud, Bali enriched my life so much that it changed me and my outlook on life.

The last couple of months I have felt a collective purge happening. Anyone that is on their journey of “awakening” or slightly conscious of their path has had to go through, or is going through, what I believe is a huge clearing, of sorts. And for those that aren’t in alignment with their truth will be in all sorts of crazy around this time. Emotionally, mentally, physically, things are surfacing to be seen, there is no more escaping from the truth, and things are needing to shift NOW, as this new energy of 2020 comes in. If you want things to change, you don’t want to be carrying this old shit with you into this new cycle. And it’s been strong. It’s been uncomfortable and confronting. Personally, it’s meant shutting myself away and getting quiet, a lot of self-enquiry, a lot of tears, and a lot of physical pain as things shift throughout the layers of my being. Continue reading →

Interview with Joanna Lewins with Rebelle Society

Leave a Reply

 

My latest article is up with Rebelle Society!
This is in honour of my Reiki teacher, giving back the love she gave me. Joanna Lewins really inspired me and my training with her was not part of my original plans, it just magically happened. She, by chance happened to be in Bali the same time as me and was offering a last minute reiki level 2 round the corner from where I was staying and on the day I was meant to fly back to the U.K.
the decision to follow my heart and intuition changed my life AND changed how I view life. If I had not followed my heart I’d have been back in the Uk earlier, not gone to Australia and not gone on to become a reiki master teacher and not gone on to develop a passion in researching more about shamanism, ancient priestesses and mysticism.
Jo is one of three teachers who’ve inspired my path.
This woman is utterly wonderful and I consider her a mermaid soul sister

“When one is attuned into the Reiki lineage, it’s like receiving a beautiful blessing from above, and is done as a short and sacred ritual that stays with you for life. It really is a gift. To be able to tune into this infinite source, to be able to give yourself hands on healing, is truly one of the greatest things you can do for yourself. It allows you to open up as a channel to receive the light to move through you, and ignites your soul. When you work with your energy body, you’re tapping in on a cellular level, that also influences your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual bodies, so it’s all encompassing and connected. It doesn’t take much to have a deeply powerful experience. Yummy, right?” ~ Joanna Lewins, Reiki Master Teacher

Jo Lewins is a British-born Reiki Master Teacher, water healing therapist, and yoga teacher who has bundles of knowledge on crystal healing, massage and shamanic journeying among other talents. Continue reading →

Larnaca, Cyprus

Leave a Reply

Cyprus holds a special place in my heart, I spent 4 summers in this beautiful country in my early 20’s and I consider it a second home. Cyprus is very dear to me because I really connect with the Greek Cypriot culture and its ancient history that fused with ancient Egypt and other countries of the Middle East. This is the island of Aphrodite,  where she was born of the sea and rose from the foam in Paphos and therefore this place is symbolic of love and beauty.

I was given the opportunity to revisit Cyprus for a friend’s wedding. Having not seen this close friend for over ten years, I jumped at the chance! I figured this would be a wonderful way to celebrate the end of my travels, with being in Bali for 2 months and Australia for 3 months. Good friends opened their homes to me and I was able to stay in Cyprus for a month and relive moments from my twenties with the eyes of a woman in her early 30’s.

I spent most of the month in Larnaca and places situated nearby. In the near future I intend on going back (obviously) and visiting other towns and go on even more day excursions so that I can blog about it for you all!

Continue reading →

The Goldcoast, Australia

Leave a Reply

Staying on the Goldcoast for my last month in Australia was pretty special and I will forever have lovely memories of my time there. Mainly because I was able to spend time with four friends that I met back in 2014 in Morocco.

It amazes me that friendships can remain strong, even when so far apart. The fact that a couple from San Franscico (Ken and Joann) happened to be in Australia the same time as me and wanting to meet up with Peace (from the Goldcoast) and Caitlin (from Yass), is pure magic. We just HAD to meet up! It would be rediculous not to, what are the odds!

Continue reading →

When people judge you

Leave a Reply

 

When ignorant people tell me I don’t practice yoga, it’s because they only want to see the “yoga” in fitness classes. When ignorant people see me practice the yoga they recognise, I’m suddenly the pretty girl in the picture doing a shallow yoga selfie that triggers others to feel bad about themselves and I’m probably vain and wasting time when I “should” be doing something society deems more important? So these two opinions are conflicting and hypocritical- which one do you think I am then? Continue reading →

Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia

Leave a Reply

During my stay in Australia, I spent a month in Coffs Harbour. Many Aussie’s laugh at me for wanting to stay in Coffs Harbour for that long, but actually I really loved being there and I was also visiting friends. For the other two months I was in Bundaberg, Brisbane and the Gold Coast which I will write about in other posts. My time in Australia wasn’t necessarily to backpack around, but more a time of rest from all the trainings I did in Bali and also to meet up with friends again. Which is why I didn’t go to many places, I do not regret this choice, I know I can go back if I want to for a trip that is more adventurous in the future.

Coffs Harbour

This is a lovely sleepy seaside town with pockets of bohemia within its local communities. Situated between the ocean and national parks that make you feel like you are in New Zealand, this place is actually really lovely. I stayed with a good friend who lived a five minute walk from the beach and a two minute walk to a river with woodland footpath. I was in Coffs for May 2019 which was during the end of Australia’s Autumn season. The nights and early mornings were slightly cold but during the day, most days were bright and sunny with warm temperatures, so much so that its common practice for Aussies to walk into their local super markets totally barefoot. I felt like I was in heaven as I really don’t like wearing shoes.

For the majority of travellers though I will suggest thinking of Coffs Harbour as a base to visit nearby areas, as really there isn’t much to do here, even though the drive to Coffs is pretty. It’s a very quiet town. The locals here don’t have many prospects or opportunities either. Some people are starting up bohemian and alternative buisnesses, this includes yoga related retreats and workshops. But it is slow, and many people who were born here, never leave. So it has this forgotten town vibe to it. That being said, it is a safe place to visit and if you are passing through, I do highly recommend spending a day here. There is enough to see for about a day or two. Continue reading →